Julia A. • New York • 19
I got my first period during my 6th grade gym class. It was awful - my gym teacher (a stout, wide man with a goatee and a buzzcut named Mr. Leone) handled it perfectly, but the nurse did not. I was panicking because I had soaked all the way through my underwear so badly that you could see it halfway up the front, and none of the "backup panties" that she kept in the bathroom cabinet fit me because I was so tiny.
I ended up having a panic attack, and barricading myself in the bathroom for almost 4 hours until the nurse finally caved in and called my mom to pick me up and take me home. Mom got me chocolate ice cream and I got to have a nice half day off, despite the sudden shock of having what looked like a pint of blood in my underwear.
